An Unlikely Encounter
by GlascowJoker
Summary: When she runs away from home again, this time she ends up running into somebody else. What will happen to her after she is taken hostage by one of the most notorious criminals in all of Gotham?
1. Chapter 1

Scars.

_**I'm only laughing on the outside.**_

_**My smile is just skin deep.**_

_**If you could see inside I'm really crying,**_

_**You might join me for a weep.**_

She ran as fast as she could, never looking or turning back. All she did was keep running.

This certainly wasn't the first time she had ever ran away from home, oh no. She had managed to sneak out plenty of times before, but she would always get caught.

Her dad would call the police as soon as he noticed her gone, and they would chase her, find her, and bring her back home. This normally wouldn't have been so bad, except her mother died years before and her father was very abusive. Every time they would bring her home, he would beat her senseless as punishment for ever leaving in the first place. And more often than not, he would have his way with her. Forcefully.

Just the thought of having to go back made her choke even harder on her tears, and she ran faster and faster, trying not to think about the beating and raping she would have to suffer through if she was caught again.

"No," She cried in defeat, hearing sirens in the distance. She found a narrow alleyway and quickly ducked inside, hiding behind a few trashcans while whimpering softly to herself. The sound of the sirens only drew closer, and she was about ready to give up.

That's when she heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire.

Shocked, she lifted her head up and her sobbing momentarily stopped. Everything seemed to have gone quiet, yet she heard the distinct sound of a shotgun reloading. She carefully leaned out from behind the trashcans, trying to see what was happening. It was only then that she realized the sirens were not coming after her.

And there, not more than one hundred feet away from her, stood the infamous Joker. She felt her heart sink at the sight of him, partially out of fear, and partially out of amazement.

There were three, no, four cars coming towards him. He had already taken one cop down, who was laying on the ground in a bloody heap. He merely smirked, reloaded his shotgun and walked in the direction of the cops, completely unphased by them. The cops, being the stupid swine that they were, tried getting out of their cars to apprehend him. The second the first cop tried to get out of his car, he was already shot dead; a shotgun blast to the head. The bullet made a deathening loud sound, making her ears ring. With ease, he had shot down the remaining three cops, and stood there, cackling like a maniac with his trademark laugh. She tried to move out from behind the cans just a little more, so she could get a better view. Stupidly, she bumped the cans with her knee, sending them all toppling over loudly. "Shit!" She whispered, ducking behind the corner of the building, hoping he didn't notice her. Psh, yeah right.

She ever so carefully looked out from around the corner, trying her hardest to avoid being seen. She peeked around the edge, her eyes grew wide with fright and her heart sank. She saw him walking towards her; he was loading more bullets into his shotgun. She sat, frozen in fear. This was the **Joker**, the most infamous criminal in the whole city. And he was coming after **her.** She forced her legs to work, quickly running back down the other end of the alley, feeling the tears coming on again. She whipped her head around as she ran, only to see him following behind her. She could feel the panic rising inside of her chest as she desperately tried to run faster and get out of his sight. She was crying so hard now, she could barely even see in front of her. Once she thought she was safe, she ducked into the nearest alley she found, desperately trying to catch her breath. She sat for a few minutes, and once she had finally calmed down some she stood back up. She went to look out the alley again to see if the coast was clear.

The last thing she remembers was him running towards her, and butt of his shotgun making contact with her skull. She fell to the ground, and everything went dark. "Ugh...my head..." She groaned, and slowly opened her eyes. They went wide once she realized she was inside what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. She quickly tried to stand up, only to realize she had been tied up and left on the floor. She tried to scream, hoping somebody might hear her and call for help, but it was no use. She was gagged too.

She let out a muffled and defeated sigh, looking around the building. It was poorly lit and dim; it was hard for her to make out anything. There was no sign of the Joker anywhere, or any of his goons for that matter. She sat waiting for a while, and still nobody had come.

'Maybe it's not all bad...' She thought to herself. 'At least he hasn't killed me yet.' She let out a muffled chuckle. 'Yeah right, he'll toy with me first, and then kill me.' She sighed in defeat again, trying to get as comfortable as she possibly could on the cold, hard floor. Eventually she managed to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

She wasn't asleep for more than two hours before she was abruptly awakened by the sound of a large metal door slamming shut. "Mmf..." She opened her eyes and sat up the best she could, feeling her body chill to the core with the sight that stood before her.

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!" Even in the darkness, there was no mistaking it. It was him alright. His voice was gravelly and hard, yet at the same time it had a high pitched quality to it. He let out a quiet chuckle and walked towards her, leaning down to her eye level. She simply stared right back at him, his eyes were a dark hazel color, with green around the edges and the middle of his eyes were brown. His pupils seemed dark and hypnotizing, drawing her in almost. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

He stared at her, a predator like guile in his eyes. He licked at his lips, pulling a knife from his jacket and roughly shoving it under her gag and cutting it loose, nearly cutting her cheek open in the process. He just grinned down at her like the maniac he was.

"So, uh any _par-tic-u-lar_ reason you decided to _spy_ on me?" His eyes were cold and piercing, never looking away from hers. She felt herself shiver under his gaze, and also from how close the knife came into contact with her skin. She felt the cool blade graze across her skin when he cut her gag, and the sensation she felt was something she simply couldn't describe. It was somewhat of a mixture between fear and excitement, for she had always admired the Joker. It was only when he raised his voice to her and held the knife to her again that she noticed she hadn't answered his question.

She swallowed hard. "I...I don't know..." She looked down at the ground, trying to avoid his gaze. He merely gave an unamused "hmph" and stood back up, belting her in the jaw with the butt of his shotgun again. She winced at the pain, coughing up blood onto the hard concrete floor. She looked back up at him with blood dripping through her teeth and down her chin. "I asked you a uh, _question_**.** I expect an answer." He hissed.

At this point, she didn't really care if he killed her or not. She knew that if she went back out on the streets, the police would just end up bringing her back home again. Death seemed like a better option to her than living out a miserable, abuse filled life. When she didn't answer again, he lifted her up by the neck and slammed her body against the wall, startling her out of her thoughts and forcing her to look him in the eyes again. She felt herself squirm underneath his piercing gaze.

"You must have a death wish or something. I'll be the uh, nice guy that I am and give you one last chance." He giggled at this thought, roughly shoving the barrel of the shotgun under her chin. "So uh, lit-tle girl. Why were you following me?" His finger rested on the trigger, ready to blow her brains out at any given moment.

She looked down at the floor, sighing in defeat. "Because I have nothing left to lose..." She whispered, slowly looking back up at the Joker. He had a look of inquiry, no, merriment? plastered on his face. He grinned at her, leaning in closer, still holding the shotgun to her. "Awh, why so serious, dollface?" He giggled at her. "Cheer up! Smile a little!" He dropped the gun on the ground and grabbed at the corners of her mouth with his gloved hands, pulling them up to make a haphazard smile. He let out a loud, hearty laugh, and she squirmed a bit underneath his grasp. "Am I making you nervous?" He smirked at her and she looked back up at him. "Is it the scars?" He pondered, licking his lips deviously. "Wanna know how I got 'em?" This caught her attention.

It's not like she hadn't heard the stories before, but each one was always different from the last. Still, she was interested in whatever he had to say. He dropped her back to the ground again, a smirk contorted on his face. He pulled up a metal chair and sat with his arms resting on top of the back of the chair, looking down at her. "Well, you see..." He smirked again, closing his eyes, as if trying to remember something? No, that wasn't it.

"When I was a teenager, I used to work at this uh, carnival in my town." He opened his eyes again, smirking at her. "I was a sideshow performer, you see. And my uh, special talent was swallowing **knives.**" She already knew where this was going. She felt herself shudder, which only made him grin. "But one day, something went **wrong.** I uh, decided to try something diff-er-ent, you see. I thought, gee, won't the crowd just looove to see someone swallow **three knives**?" He leaned down closer to her. "So here I am, this seventeen year old kid with three knife handles sticking out of my mouth. The crowd went absolutely **nuts **for me. But uh, when I went to take them out, they sliced open my face. Just. Like. This." He grinned at her, his scars nearly reaching his ears. She just stared at him. "So, the crowd was horrified. Everyone started to uh, panic. Everyone was screaming and crying, calling me a **freak**. I guess I was just too much of a freak for the freakshow!" He laughed enthusiastically, slapping himself on the knee and clenching his stomach. After he got his composure again, he stood up, straightening the lapels of his vest before looking at her again. She just stared back at him.

"What? Didn't you like my story?" He threw his arms up into a shrug. "No, it's just..." She looked at the ground. She was afraid that what she was about to say might get her killed, but hey, what could she possibly have to lose, right? She looked back up at him, his head cocked to the side and he had an amused grin plastered on his face. She swallowed hard.

"I want to know the real story." She shuddered, afraid of how he might react. His grin only grew wider, and he sat back down in the chair, leaning over the back of it to look down at her. "You know, I can never quite remember." He smirked. "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another." His expression seemed playful, like he wasn't taking anything she was saying seriously at all. "Well, I've heard all your stories before, I know that something happened and pushed you over the edge." She looked back down at the ground. "I know I have..."

"Oh! Then it's your turn." He smirked at her. "Go on, tell me a story. I'm listening." She looked back up at him, her brows furrowed. Was he actually concerned about what happened to her, or was it just for his own amusement? She rolled her eyes at herself, answering her own question. Obviously he wasn't concerned. He looked at her, seeming a bit impatient. 'Oh, whatever,' She thought. 'He will probably kill me anyway, might as well make some conversation first.'

"Well..." She started, looking off to the side. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had never talked to anyone about what has happened to her, and the first person she was going to tell was, of all people, the Joker? The whole idea seemed a bit ludicrous. She sighed. "I ran away from home...probably at least a hundred times. My mom has been dead for as long as I can remember, and my dad..." She paused again, looking down at the ground. "He...he abuses me. Not only that, but he rapes me...and every time I try to run and get away, he just calls the cops and they bring me back home...and then he will beat and rape me for trying to run away." She blinked back tears. "They have no idea how he treats me...they just think I'm some moody girl running away from home all the time." She sighed. "Nobody understands..."

When she heard no response, she looked back up at him. He just stared at her, no expression whatsoever on his face. That only made her more nervous. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat, and awaited a response.

He just sat there, staring at her, for longer than he had intended to, probably. But she was right; something pushed him over the edge, and drove him to insanity. He looked at the ground, averting his gaze from her. He felt anger rising deep from within the pit of his stomach, clenching his fists tightly. She gulped.

"Well, then." He looked back up from the ground, picking up his shotgun and loading it, smirking at her.

"What do you say we pay him a lit-tle uh, **visit**?"


	3. Chapter 3

She looked up at him. "W-What?" She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "You heard me." He looked down at her before leaning down and cutting the ropes that bound her. "Uh, you may want to clean yourself up a bit first." She reached a hand up to her face, realizing she had dried blood on her skin from the times he had hit her earlier. He tossed a dirty rag at her, and she wiped the blood off the best she could before shakily standing up. He walked over to the large, heavy metal door, pushing it open and waiting for her. She just stood there, staring at the ground. He let out an annoyed sigh and walked back over to her, grabbing her by her shirt.

"Do you **want **your revenge or not?" He looked at her, his hazel eyes enveloped by his black face paint. She shuddered. "I do, but-" "Good." He grabbed her by the arm, shoving her out the door in front of him.

"Just lead the way." He smirked.

The whole way there she kept nervously turning behind her, afraid he might try something. She wasn't quite sure why he had just let her go free and why he was trying to help her, let alone why he hadn't killed her yet. When she asked she got no response, so she just sighed a little and walked on. Not much longer later, they stood across the street from her old house in the old suburbs of Gotham. She shuddered at the sight of it, and just stood there, staring up at it. He raised an eyebrow at her and looked back to the house. "Well?" She swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she could go through with this or not. Doing this would make her a felon, and worse; a murderer. What did it really matter anyway? It's not like she has anything left to live for. She sighed again, looking down at the ground for a moment before slowly rising her head back up again. "I-I'm not sure I can do this..." The Joker walked up behind her. "Take a second here, and think about all the times he beat you, or had his way with you. He felt no remorse for you. He didn't care about whether he was hurting you or not." She could feel the Joker's words stinging her ears. "Do you think that during all of those times, your father was questioning the morality of what he was doing? No." He moved so he stood in front of her, his hands behind his back.

The Joker's words had made her realize just how much her father deserved to die. Maybe he was right, she might be able to go through with this. Maybe. She only hoped things wouldn't go wrong. She inhaled a deep breath, exhaling with a sigh before forcing her legs to walk up to the front door, the Joker following close behind her. She felt her heartbeat steadily grow faster and faster as she reached for the handle of the door, twisting it ever so slowly. There was a faint click, and she pushed the door just slightly ajar, peering inside in hopes that he wasn't there. She felt the Joker shove her inside, nearly knocking her down to the ground. "What the hell!" She turned her attention away from him, looking around the house. It would have looked like a normal suburban house on the inside, if it weren't for the unkempt appearance inside. The floors were littered with empty bottles, and old pictures on the wall hung crooked on their hooks with glass cracked. It was quiet, the only sound came from the static of the T.V in the other room. Maybe he wasn't here after all. But then her hopes turned into fear once she heard footsteps coming from upstairs. She felt a shiver run down the length of her spine, and she shook violently, starting to take a step back. "N-No...I c-can't..." She protested, but he only pushed her forward again, causing her to stumble in front of the staircase, looking up to see the bloodshot, angry eyes of her father.

"No..." She looked up at him, her eyes wide as she stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights. "Mmm...my sweet baby girl came back to her daddy. I knew you missed me." He reached out and grabbed her by the wrists, licking his lips and gawking at her. She felt her pent up anger starting to release, quickly kneeing him in the crotch, freeing herself from his grasp. "No! I won't let you take advantage of me anymore!" She shouted at him, feeling the hot tears stream down her face. She started backing up again, when something landed by her feet. Confused, she bent down and picked it up, only to realize it was a knife. She looked up again, where the Joker was watching her from a distance, an amused grin plastered on his face again. He mouthed 'Kill him' to her, and she felt the shudders creeping up her spine again. Her dad had gotten back up, tackling her to the ground while she had been distracted. "Mmf...get off of me!" She protested, trying desperately to kick him off of her, but to no avail. He was fueled by a drunken rage, grabbing her wrists again and leaning down to her neck, leaving a sloppy wet hickey on her skin. She cringed at his touch, and looked over to the Joker with desperation in her eyes, but he wasn't going to help her and she knew it. He wanted her to do this, on her own. Her father put a dirty hand around her neck, trying to pull her in for a kiss. She pulled back, staying away from his whiskey ridden breath. She took the knife the Joker had thrown to her, picking it up reluctantly before stabbing him in the side.

He let out a scream of pain, rolling off from on top of her and clutching at his side. She immediately stood up, looking over her father in disbelief at what she had done. Knife still in her hand, she looked at the blood that stained her fingers. Her **father's **blood. She began to remember all of the times he had taken advantage of her, and how he had stolen his own daughter's virginity when she was still just a child. Tears clouded her eyes and she dropped to her knees, grasping the knife with both hands and stabbing him repeatedly in the back. "You fucking bastard! I hate you!" She screamed, feeling all of her pent up frustrations suddenly being released. "All you ever did was hurt me, why couldn't you have been a real father to me!" She just sat there in front of him, sobbing and shoving the knife in and out of his body.

The Joker still stood from a distance, watching the scene before him unfold. She started yelling something at him; he didn't quite pick up what she was saying, except for something about how he was never a real father to her. He thought back to his own childhood for a moment, how his dad was hardly ever even around. He was always out drinking, and whenever he did finally come back home, it was in the early hours of the morning. He didn't really have any clear memories of his father, since he was still so young whenever he left.

He was suddenly brought back to reality and his thoughts stopped when he heard her sobbing and mumbling something to herself. He walked over to where her father lay; his back was completely soaked with blood. He tilted his head a bit, nudging him in the side with his shoe. He was dead all right. He looked back to her, who just sat there, staring at her blood stained hands. "I...I'm a murderer...oh god, no..." She sobbed. "They're going to arrest me...they're going to take me to jail." He turned his head. He could already hear sirens, knowing that it wouldn't be long before the police showed up. He looked down at her while she sobbed, listening as the sirens gradually grew louder and closer to them. While she was distracted, he struck her in the head with the butt of his shotgun again, knocking her out cold. He bent down, picking up her limp body and hauling her over his shoulder. He stood back up, carrying his gun in his other hand. He was about to bring a complete stranger he had just met less than twelve hours ago, to his **hideout.** The same place where the police, the Batman, and Gordon have been trying to find ever since he first came to Gotham. He must really be insane to do something like this, but something deep inside him told him it was what he had to do. He couldn't just leave her here.


	4. Chapter 4

Nnn..." She sat up, rubbing her head. "Wha...what happened?" She looked around and realized she was in that abandoned looking building again. No, it was a different one. And she was laying in a king sized bed, with a plush velvety purple comforter. The walls were brick, painted the same plum color as the comforter. There were two wooden dressers next to the bed, and on one of the dressers was a picture, the glass inside the frame had a large crack down the middle. Curious, she picked it up carefully and looked at it. It was a wedding photo, with a man with curly brown hair, hazel eyes and a beautiful smile. The woman he stood next to was absolutely stunning, her skin was perfectly tan and her long dark locks were voluptuous and curly. She had beautiful green eyes, and her body was just right. Not too curvy, but not too skinny either. She put the picture back where she had found it and she looked down at the floor, a shaggy tan carpet with newspaper clippings strewn across the floor, and some hung on a corkboard on the wall in front of her, with writing scribbled on all of them in red sharpie.

It didn't take her long to realize this must be the Joker's hideout.

She felt a chill down her spine again. The Joker himself had brought her here, to his very hideout. She crawled out of the surprisingly warm and comfortable bed, sighing a bit as she did so. She opened the door to the room she was in, looking around at the rest of the building. All the windows had been filled in with bricks or boarded up, making it impossible for anyone to see inside, or outside for that matter. There was a teal colored table in the right corner of the room, with a small tv sitting on top of it with the news on and a plush leather chair next to it, along with a cold cup of black coffee and a burnt out cigarette sitting in an ashtray. To her left was a large steel door, along with a few cabinets and a countertop, and a mini fridge filled with just about anything. Anything besides food. She sighed again, realizing just how hungry she was. There was another door in this room, which led to a cramped, tiny and dirty bathroom. There were containers of face paint lying on the sink and across the floor, no doubt this was where he stayed all right. She exited the bathroom and walked back out to the room with the little table again, and found an open doorway and walked inside, finding a small room with a worn old green couch and a beaten up coffee table covered in playing cards. She walked back out again and saw another door, opening it up to find a stairwell to what looked like the basement. She didn't dare go down there, so instead she shut the door and walked back to his room, lying down on the bed. She let out a sigh, and soon she fell asleep again.

"Hey you, sleeping beauty. Time to wake up." She felt something nudging her. Wait, what? She felt confused yet again, opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings. She was still in his hideout, and still in his bed. She rubbed at her eyes sleepily. He furrowed his brow at her. "I uh, hate to interrupt your little nap..." He paused, inhaling a large puff of smoke from his cigarette. She sat up in the bed, looking him over. He stood before her, his jacket had been tossed on the edge of the bed and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He pulled the cigarette back out of his mouth with a gloved hand, exhaling the smoke. The first few buttons on his shirt were undone and his tie had been loosened, his skin glistened with sweat. He held his shotgun in his other hand, slung over his shoulder. "A-hem." He impatiently cleared his throat. She blinked a few times, trying to pay attention to whatever he was trying to say. "As I was uh, saying..." He started, only to have her cut him off. "Wait!" He inhaled, letting out a long and irritated sigh. "What?" Her cheeks grew red, feeling a little guilty for interrupting him. She almost forgot what she wanted to ask him in the first place. "...How did I end up here anyway? The last thing I remember is being at my old house..." She swallowed, feeling bad memories creep up just from mentioning her old home. "Well, duh." He giggled. "Unless you wanted to ah, be caught and arrested for murder and put in jail." She blinked. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? That he, the Joker, had brought her back here, to his hideout, because he didn't **want **her to get taken away? Her skin grew hot again and she heard him chuckle, realizing she was blushing. She looked away from him again, her cheeks growing redder. She shot her head back up and looked at him again. "Wait, so why did you knock me out then? Was that really necessary?" She grunted quietly, rubbing the bump she no doubt had on her head from all the hits she had taken today. He walked over, placing his hands on the bed and leaning over her. "Actually, it was." Again, his hazel eyes pierced through her. She shuddered. "Just because I brought you here doesn't mean I trust you." She looked down, a little disappointed at the fact he didn't fully trust her yet. She thought again, wondering why he would bother bringing her here anyway if he didn't trust her. "Why didn't you kill me?"

She felt goosebumps trickle up her skin. The forwardness of her question surprised even her. She swallowed, anxiously awaiting an answer. "Is that all? You done asking me questions yet?" He gave her an annoyed glance, she swallowed again. "Uh, yes but-" "Good. Because I need you to uh, do me a lit-tle favor." He grinned at her. A favor? Coming from him that could be anything. And again he had beaten around the bush when she asked him that same question. She sighed a little, deciding to ignore it, for now. "W-What kind of a favor?" What did he want with her anyway? Sex? Money? Something else? "Well, you see…" He started, leaning away from her again, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm sure you've heard about uh, Mr. Wayne's masquerade party to-night?" He cocked his head, awaiting an answer. Masquerade? She hadn't heard anything about one, and she wasn't sure where this was going. She shook her head no, which made him a little irritated. "Ah, well, Bruce Wayne is having this par-ty. And I **really **want to go." He grinned, leaning over her again and making her skin crawl. "But, I don't have a uh, date." He smirked at her. A date? Is that really what he wanted, to take her on a...date? She thought to herself. No, he would use her to gain entry, probably, and that's it. She sighed. Better to go along with his little plan instead of object him. "Wait...I don't have a dress or anything..." "Ah, don't you worry your pret-ty lit-tle head off." He smirked at her. "Let's just say I uh, took care of it." For some reason, that didn't sound good. He stood up. "Well, you better go get ready. We have to leave in-" He looked at an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Four hours." He smirked, clapping his hands at her. "Chop chop! Let's go!" She sighed a little and stood up. "What about-" Everything went dark. 'Are you kidding me...' She thought to herself, but at least this time it was only a garbage bag and he hadn't knocked her out again. She sighed as he pushed and shoved her out the door and outside, where one of his goons waited with an all white van with tinted black windows. He held onto her with one hand, opening the back doors of the van with the other. He tossed her inside, causing her to wince a bit from underneath the bag. He stepped inside, pulling off the garbage bag and grinning like a maniac at her. "See you soon, princess." And with that, he hopped out, shut the doors and let out a fit of laughter as the van drove off.


	5. Chapter 5

A while later she felt the van stop, and the back doors opened again to reveal a rather muscular man with jeans and a white t-shirt on. She assumed he was one of his goons, who would do small shit jobs while he was busy with ways to mess with Gotham. "Let's go, boss says you need to look real good for his big plan tonight." She hesitantly got up and out of the van, which had been stopped in front of a hair salon. "Jus' go on in, tell 'em your name's Ms. Remington. Everythin's al'eady paid fer." No wonder this guy was out doing small jobs, he may have been strong but his I.Q couldn't be much higher than 50 points. She watched him get back in the van and drive off. Oh great. She sighed. She could have just run away and never gone back to his hideout right now, but she didn't want to. Partially because she knew he would find her if she did, and he probably wouldn't be too happy either, and partially because, well, she just straight up didn't want to. She walked inside, sitting down in one of the chairs while some thirty-something year old lady with an orange spray tan with caked on makeup and a Snooki bump started to curl her hair.

Two and a half hours later, her hair was all curled and her makeup and nails had been done. She had to admit; she looked, and felt, gorgeous. She smiled at the reflection in the mirror before heading back outside, where the same van was waiting for her. The back doors opened, where yet another goon sat in the back, waiting for her to get inside. For some weird reason, she felt no hesitation when she got inside. Rather, she felt almost anxious. The doors shut once she was inside and the van started off again, yet the Joker was nowhere to be seen. She sighed a bit, and after at least half an hour of driving, the van stopped again. The back doors of the van opened again, and there stood the Joker, his curled green hair gelled and slicked back, clinging to the back of his neck. The tuxedo he wore was incredibly well-tailored, and she had to admit, he looked... classy. He wore a dark plum colored vest underneath his jacket, the same color as the comforter on his bed. He adjusted his tiny black bowtie, looking at her with a brow raised. "How do I uh, look?" He could almost pass off for the type of person you would normally see at one of Bruce Wayne's parties, minus the scars and clown makeup. "You look, um...great." Her voice audibly stuttered, which made him grin from ear to ear."Aw, shucks." He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back towards the hideout. It took her a moment to realize he hadn't knocked her out or blindfolded her this time before taking her inside. Did it slip his mind...or was he starting to, heaven forbid, trust her? Who knows.

He dragged her inside; rambling on about something she hadn't been paying attention to. "Are you listening to me?" Oh, crud. She really needed to stop drifting off whenever he was talking to her. She quickly nodded her head at him and he grinned back. "Gooood. Now, get changed. I want to make sure my date looks **stunning **to-night." He tossed a dress at her, which she eyed for a millisecond before going inside the tiny and dingy bathroom to change, locking the door just in case. She took the dress off the hanger, taking a look at it before she put it on. It was a one shouldered dress, and of course the same deep plum color. It had tiny purple roses in a group at the right hip and on top of the one shoulder, with little diamonds in the middle of all of them. She tried it on, smiling a little. It fit her perfectly; the mermaid style dress hugging the curves of her body tightly, accentuating her physique and making her look absolutely gorgeous. On the counter, she noticed a pair of elegant chandelier diamond earrings, which when she put on hung down and grazed across her collarbones. He also left her a matching diamond bracelet and a pair of plum colored high heels. She slid the bracelet on to her left wrist, smiling at her reflection in the mirror before slipping on her shoes. She felt like a princess, she had never been so dressed up before in her life. And all for a date with the Joker, who was impatiently knocking at the door. "Can you uh, hurry it up a bit? We're going to be late." Oh, right. The party. She opened up the door, which made him turn around and look at her. She stood in the doorway, placing one hand on the frame while the other played with her earring. "Well? How do I look?" She smiled at him while his eyes scanned her up and down. He walked closer to her, licking his lips and grinning at her. "Why, you look stun-ning." He placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close to him. This made her heart skip a beat as she looked up at his tall frame, grinning down at her. He reached inside the jacket of his tuxedo, handing her a stunning antique styled silver masquerade mask, with gorgeous intricate laser cut designs. She put it on ever so gently, not wanting to smear her professionally applied makeup. "I hope you're ready." He smirked at her, putting on his own mask. His resembled a plague doctor mask, with a long beak protruding out from the mask; only it was more elegant and embellished with tiny gold details. Unlike hers, it covered his entire face, effectively hiding his face paint and scars from view. She watched him cock his pistol before sliding it inside his jacket. He started for the door, and she followed behind him. Outside, the same van waited for them. The Joker swung open the back doors and climbed inside, followed again by her. He pushed the doors shut and with that, they were off.


	6. Chapter 6

The ride there was long, neither of them said much, he mostly just sat there and loaded more pistols or sharpened one of the undoubtedly many knives he carried with him. He would occasionally pull out a folded up piece of paper from inside his pocket and skim over it before tucking it back inside his pocket. She sat across from him and said nothing; she just stared at the ground. She wasn't exactly sure what he had in mind with this "plan" of his, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be a part of it or not. She cleared her throat a bit, which made him raise his brow underneath his mask. "So um, what exactly am I supposed to do? Why do you need me to tag along?" He let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, you'll see soon enough. You play a **very **important role in order for this puh-lan to work properly." Oh boy. That didn't sound very good. She sighed a little, and not much later the van came to a halt. The Joker stood up, straightening his tux and opening the back doors, jumping down onto the pavement. He bowed slightly, holding out a hand for her. She laughed slightly at this gesture, reaching out and taking his hand and stepping down from the inside of the van. The goons up front climbed out of the car, wearing pantyhose smeared with haphazard clown makeup on them. They each held M-16's in their burly arms. The sky resembled an oil painting, with the purple and orange hues illuminating the sky. The evening air was chill, a slight breeze brushed against her skin. She shivered slightly and looked around. "Where are we, anyway?" They were parked in what looked to be a back street or some sort of alleyway. She noticed that there were four or five other vans, also filled with goons who were climbing out of the backs and fronts of the vans. This was certainly not somewhere Bruce Wayne would throw a party. The Joker chuckled at her. "Why, sweetheart, you're forgetting that we aren't exactly uh, the type of people who would be at a party like this." He dusted off the shoulder of his expensive looking tuxedo and looked back at her. "Don't you think we would look a lit-tle **strange **pulling up to Bruce Wayne's penthouse in a van?" Her face reddened slightly. "Oh..." She felt dumb now, of course he was right. She shivered again. "Ah, I almost forgot." The Joker snapped his fingers, and one of the goons brought him a very elegant looking shawl made with some exotic looking animal fur. The Joker walked over to her and draped it over her shoulders. She smiled at him slightly; the fur was soft and kept her warm from the chill of the evening air. And it looked beautiful, too. She wondered where he even got all of this stuff anyway, but it didn't really matter anyway. The Joker snapped his fingers again, all of his goons grouped together and stood before their boss as he slipped on a pair of fancy looking white gloves. "Now, you all remember the plan, cor-rect?" They nodded at him in unison. He smiled. "Good. Then you each know where to wait until I send the signal, yes?" They nodded again. "Perrrr-fect." He turned back to her, placing an arm around her shoulder enthusiastically. "So, are you ready for the big par-ty? Because I know I am." He lifted up his mask slightly with his other hand, grinning at her. She stared at him, his devious grin spread across his pale face. He slid his mask over his face again, and led her in the other direction. She turned her head and watched as his goons all scattered about in different directions, in groups of three or four.


	7. Chapter 7

They walked at least four, maybe five blocks until they were at Bruce's penthouse. Her feet were tired and sore from the high heels she wore, but she sucked it up. Once they arrived at the door, there was an elderly man checking guests in. They stood in line behind four other couples, the Joker held out his elbow to her and she immediately placed her arm inside his. They walked up to the old man, who was wearing glasses and stood behind a podium with a list of guests and two bouncers next to the doors. She looked around, taking in the gorgeous glass walls of the penthouse and the shimmering chandelier lights and elegant furniture she saw inside. There were already guests standing inside, holding glasses of champagne and talking to each other. "Name, please?" The old man smiled and looked up at them. The Joker cleared his throat. "Mr. and Ms. Remington." He spoke with an elegant and smooth voice, which even fooled her into thinking he was some high class person. The man scrolled down through the list with his pen and found their reservation, crossing them off the list. "Welcome to the party then, Mr. and Ms. Remington." He smiled again, turning and extending his arm in a welcoming gesture towards the front door. They walked forward up the stairs, which were covered in a bright red carpet and elegant lights and decorations adorned the staircase. The two bouncers opened the front doors for them, and they walked inside. The sounds of low murmurs from the groups of chattering people filled her ears, and she stood still for a moment. She gazed up, taking in the sight of a **massive **chandelier on the ceiling that had to have been at least a hundred feet tall, if not more. Gorgeous paintings and pieces of art work adorned the walls, and plush leather loveseats and giant fancy carpets filled the lounge. Everyone here was wearing expensive looking ball gowns and tuxedos, and she even looked like she belonged here. She couldn't believe it. She was drawn out of her thoughts when she felt the Joker tugging at her arm. "Now sweetheart," he cooed at her. "Wouldn't you like to uh, go upstairs to the real party?" He led her towards an elevator near the end of the room, where they both stepped inside. He shut the doors before anyone else walked inside, and they began the long descent up to the top floor of Bruce's penthouse. Even the elevator was gorgeous, the walls lined with red velvet and adorned with gold trimmings. The Joker paced around the surprisingly large elevator, examining all the walls and small nooks and crannies and running gloved hands over the walls. She looked over at him, puzzled, with a confused expression on her face. After another once-over of the elevator, he stood next to her again. "Perfect." He pulled out the small piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it carefully, looking down at her. "Now, here is where you come into play my dear." He grinned underneath his mask again, and she looked up at him inquisitively. "What exactly is that?" She pondered. He straightened his bowtie and cleared his throat again, and he spoke with his normal gravelly voice again. "Well, uh you see, Wayne Enterprises, as I'm sure you know, is one of the leading companies of the world, correct?" He paused and watch her nod her head slowly. "Weeeelll, Bruce Wayne's company makes things like electronics, own most factories in Gotham, and even has their own shipping company." He grinned. "Oh, but I'm not interested in that boring old stuff. You see, Wayne Enterprises also makes weapons for the military, as well as surveillance equipment. Now, I am running a little low on supplies here. So, I need to uh, **bor-row **some from Bruce." He grinned again. She felt slightly uncomfortable at this, stealing anything from Bruce Wayne didn't seem like a great idea at all. "So...wait." She wondered. "How am I supposed to help you steal this stuff anyway?" "Oh, well I'm glad you asked darling. You see, Bruce always makes an appearance at his parties, but he never stays for the entire time. He always leaves and goes back to his room to do God knows what. Buuuut, I need **you **to keep him distracted long enough so that we can break into his room." He let out a chuckle, and she felt her heart sink. "B-but how am I supposed to do that?" She had never even met Bruce Wayne in person, and now she somehow has to distract him? This didn't make any sense to her. The Joker let out an annoyed sigh. "Well, I don't know, use your feminine charm or something? I can't think of every-thing now, can I?" I guess that kind of made some sense, in some sort of twisted way. She looked at the glowing buttons on the elevator; they were about half-way to the top floor by now. He grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at him. She looked up into his eyes, orbs of hazel peered down at her from behind his mask. He held her shoulder with one hand and lifted up his mask partially with the other. "Now, just make **sure **that Bruce doesn't get back to his room until we are finished in there, understand?" She nodded, producing a slight smirk from his lips. "Good, because if you **don't**, there are going to be re-pur-cuss-ions." Fear began to instill itself in her stomach again. She **definitely** did not want to know what that meant. She nodded vigorously. "Goooood." He turned toward the door again and slid the mask back over his face. They both stood in silence for the next few minutes. Her mind began to race rapidly, and she felt her armpits begin to dampen with sweat.

The doors opened and he hooked his arm around her again, and they walked inside. The top floor was astoundingly large, with beautiful tile lining the floor. She looked down and saw the reflection of her and the Joker in the professionally cleaned floor. She swallowed hard, looking back up again. There were several smaller chandeliers lighting up the room here, and there were small round tables everywhere with empty plates and gorgeous silverware placed upon them. The Joker led them towards a large rectangular table covered with fancy looking appetizers and cheeses. She picked up a piece of something and chewed on it delicately. She was still starving, but didn't want to blow their cover by shoving food in her face. The Joker grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray being carried by a nearby butler and handed it to her. She took it from him, feeling her fingers graze across his gloved hand as she did so. She blushed ever so slightly, and took a small sip from the glass. He looked around at the other guests, and then back at her again. He leaned in closely, lifting up his mask just enough for his lips to peek out and graze against her ear. She shuddered at this sensation, and turned her eyes toward him. "Now, you go on and enjoy yourself for a while. Drink some champagne, eat something, and be **sure **to mingle with Bruce when he shows up." He stood back again, pulling his mask down again before he started walking away from her. "Wait!" She whisper-shouted, reaching out and grabbing on to his arm. He turned back and looked at her. "How do I know what to do after that?" "Oh, trust me, you'll know." He let out a low giggle and pulled away from her arm, walking into a hallway that was next to the elevator. She let out a sigh, taking another sip of the champagne. She picked up a piece of shrimp off one of the trays, taking a bite from it. She looked around at the guests; everyone else seemed to be talking to somebody else while she was just standing here by herself looking stupid. She finished her piece of shrimp and looked down at her feet, seeing her reflection again. She began to feel like she seemed out of place here, and nervously sipped her champagne again. She noticed a shadow moving towards her reflection in the floor, and she looked up, almost dropping her glass of champagne. The man who just walked up to her, was **Bruce Wayne **himself. Well, at least she doesn't have to find him now. She felt in awe that she was in his presence; this man is one of the handsomest, most wealthy people in the world. She swallowed slightly. He grinned at her with bright white teeth, holding out a hand. "Hi, I'm Bruce Wayne." She shook his hand delicately and smiled back. "Hi, I'm Ms. Remington." She mustered her most distinguished voice she could, trying to seem like she belonged here. "Well, Ms. Remington," Bruce began. "I can't help but notice you are over here by yourself. Where is your date?" Oh, fuck. That sinking feeling again. "Oh, I came with my uh, boyfriend. I think he went to the restroom." She sipped her champagne again, hoping he would believe her lie. "Well then, can I keep you company until he comes back then?" He smiled at her, putting an arm around her waist. Wow, she thought. His arms felt strong and muscular around her body, and he led her in to the crowd. He stopped in front of a few other people who were talking, and they stopped and turned their heads at the sight of Bruce. Bruce smiled at all of them warmly. "I hope you all are enjoying yourselves this evening. I'd like to introduce you all to uh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your first name?" He looked back at her. Oh, she thought quickly. What name sounds distinguished? She smiled at Bruce and the other guests. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Remington. It's a pleasure to meet you." She listened with Bruce as they talked about politics, Gotham, and the economy. The conversation was so incredibly dry and boring, she longed for any excuse to get away. Suddenly she heard a buzzing sound inside her ear. Huh? Suddenly, the raspy voice of the Joker filled her ears. "Helllloooo Ms. Remington." He cooed. What? How? Questions began racing through her head. She perked up and tried to look like she was still listening to their conversation. "Now, uh, **dear**, if you could, go someplace where we can talk in puh-rivate." She looked at the guests again, placing a small hand on Bruce's elbow and smiled. "Would you excuse me for a moment please? I need to use the restroom." She handed her drink to Bruce and walked away, straightening out her dress as she walked down the long hallway. She heard the impatient sound of the Joker through her ears again, and found a door marked with a sign that read "Ladies Room". She opened the door, and sighed in relief when she realized it was a one-person bathroom. She locked the door behind her, taking in the sight of the gorgeous bathroom. The Joker grew more impatient with her. "Uh, Ms. Rem-ing-ton? Are you still there?" "Uh, yes. Sorry." She replied. "What did you put in my ear, and how did you even do it?" "There will be plenty of time for questions later, dearie. But first, there are more im-por-tant matters to attend to." She heard the sound of crinkling papers and people chattering in the background. "Bruce has a very advanced security system that he uses to keep his guests out of uh, areas where they are unwelcome. He keeps keypads on all of the doors that can only be unlocked with a password. My guys are working on figuring out the password to his room, but it may take a while. I need you to keep Bruce busy for at least thirty more minutes." "How am I supposed to do that? Have you heard the boring shit these people here talk about? I think I'd rather jab my eyes out with a skewer." She heard the Joker let out a cackle through her earpiece. "Oh, you're such a card. I don't know, flirt with him or something. Just make **sure **he doesn't try to go to his room until I give you the okay. Now get back out there." The sound cut off and she let out a sigh. She examined herself in the mirror. Her outfit was beautiful and her makeup and hair made her look breathtaking and her dress showed just enough of her cleavage. She took a deep breath and walked back outside, straightening her mask as she walked back in to the large and elegant room.

She searched around for Bruce, not seeing him anywhere. 'Shit.' She worried he might have left already. How long was she gone anyway? Right as she was beginning to panic, she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and smiled when she saw it was Bruce, who handed her the glass of champagne. "I have to say Elizabeth, that dress makes you look fantastic." He grinned at her, and she reciprocated the grin. 'Flirt with him. Okay, I can do that I guess.' She leaned closer to Bruce, grazing her hand down the lapels of his jacket and playfully grabbing his tie. "You don't look to bad yourself either, Mr. Wayne." She chuckled. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you around before. Are you from around here?" She sipped her champagne gingerly. "Oh, yes. I grew up in Gotham." That part was true at least. "I've lived here all my life." Bruce smiled at her again, and took her hand gently. "So, where is your boyfriend anyway?" Oh, shit. She forgot about that part. Fuck, how could she cover this up? "Oh, well uh..." She thought quickly. "Can I let you in on a little secret? Just between us?" Bruce's eyebrows furrowed slightly beneath his mask. She leaned in closer again, even on her high heels she couldn't reach Bruce's ear. He had to be at least six feet tall. "Well, I don't actually have a date." That was technically a lie, if she counted the Joker as a proper date. "I know that you're supposed to have a date here, but I was embarrassed and didn't want to tell you that I couldn't get a date." She swallowed, praying that he would believe her. "Oh." Bruce muttered. She felt nervous again. She looked at her feet, and Bruce lifted her head up by her chin. "Well, since you don't have a date, maybe I can get to know you a little better?" He smiled at her, and she smiled back slightly. "Sure. That sounds nice." She heard the static sound in her ear again, and the Joker's voice filled her head. "Hey, hope you are still chatting it up with Mr. Playboy. We should be finished in twenty minutes. Keep up the good work." He giggled and the static sound came again before silence. She looked back up at Bruce and smiled. 'Only twenty more minutes. I think I can do this.' She thought to herself. Bruce placed his arm around her waist and began leading her towards the long hallway. "This party is a little boring, don't you think? What do you say we go somewhere where we can have a little more privacy?" Oh no. She prayed he wasn't going to take her where she thought he was going to. "Uh, sure." She muttered. "...Where did you have in mind exactly?" 'Please please please please don't say your room...' she pleaded in her mind desperately. "Hm, well we could always go to my room. Nobody will bother us in there." He grinned down at her, and she fake smiled back. 'Fuuuuck...now what do I do?' She began running ideas through her head. "Oh, well actually I was kind of hoping we could get some fresh air. You know, I heard there is a great view of the city from the roof here. I'd love to be able to see it." She put an arm around Bruce's, and leaned her head against his strong arm and looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Heh, sure. That sounds nice." He led her through the long hallways; it felt like they were stuck in a never-ending maze. A few minutes later, they arrived at a large metal door. Bruce flipped open the cover to a keypad below the handle of the door and pushed the buttons on the keypad with his thumb. The door made a clicking sound as it unlocked, and Bruce held it open for her as she walked inside. There was a large staircase leading up to the roof of Bruce's penthouse. She walked slowly, trying to take up as much time as she could. She eventually made it to the top, and she had to admit, it was beautiful up here. The cool night air caressed her cheek and the sky was illuminated with thousands of tiny little stars and hues of color. She looked out at all the tall buildings and skyscrapers around her; they were lit up like Christmas trees. She felt Bruce standing next to her and she smiled. "It sure it gorgeous out here. Sometimes I forget how beautiful this city can be." She stood on the roof with Bruce, making small talk and even having a few laughs. She never would have guessed that someone like Bruce Wayne would be so down to earth and fun to be around. She felt a tinge of guilt inside of her when she remembered why she was here in the first place. Then her mind shifted back to the Joker, and that ever-burning question she had that still hadn't been answered. Why had the Joker left her alive anyway? Did he keep her around to use as bait for his schemes or was it more than that? She let out an audible sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry...are you bored or something?" Bruce looked at her inquisitively. Oh, she forgot that she was here talking to Bruce. "Oh, no Bruce. It's not that. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now. I don't feel too well." That might have been the first true thing she had said to Bruce all night. She heard the familiar buzzing noise in her ear again. "Aaaaalmost done here. Two minutes." The voice was gone just as quickly as it had entered her head. She then realized she had been here talking to Bruce for almost twenty minutes. She felt the familiar sensation of his hand around her waist again and he began leading her back inside. He was saying something to her but she wasn't processing it. She began to feel the guilt seeping in heavily. After spending all this time with Bruce, she felt horrible for helping the Joker steal from him. But then again, disobeying the Joker wasn't something she wanted to do either. She sighed again and let Bruce lead her around the long hallways. She remembered again that the Joker was still breaking into Bruce's bedroom. "So are we going back to the party now?" She wondered. She hadn't been paying any attention to whatever he had been saying to her at all. "Actually, I figured you might like to lie down for a while, since you said you weren't feeling well." Bruce smiled at her again. "I have the comfiest bed you will ever lay on." 'Oh god no...I wonder how far away his room is? Did Joker get whatever he needed inside yet?' Bruce continued to lead her down the long maze of hallways and rooms. She heard the small device in her ear tuning in again. "Hey there dollface! We're in, we just need to find the security files on his computer. Shouldn't take too long. Just keep Brucey away for me, okay?" The Joker cooed before the connection cut out again. She continued walking with Bruce. "Uh, where is your room anyway? This place feels like a maze." Which, it did. "Oh, don't worry. It isn't much further." Bruce smiled at her again. She felt like she was walking on eggshells right now. She was playing this way too close to the chest, but there was no way she could convince Bruce to turn back now. The Joker's voice came up in her head again. "Downloading the files as we speak. Fifty-five seconds left." The sound of Bruce's voice distracted her from the Joker. "Once we get to the end of this hallway, we just take a right and it's the fourth door on the left." He smiled down at her, and she smiled back. Shit. They were almost at the end of the hallway, but the Joker wasn't done yet. How could she let him know without blowing her cover? She felt her armpits growing moist again. "Forty seconds." "Wait, Bruce!" She cried out, before the Joker cut the connection. She prayed that he could hear her still. Bruce stopped walking and paused for a moment, looking at her. "Yes Elizabeth?" She tried to think how she could bide the Joker a little bit more time. "Uh, before we go inside your room..." She spoke loudly, to ensure Joker would be able to hear. Inside Bruce's room, the Joker signaled to his goons to pack up their materials. He hovered above the computer anxiously as he waited for the download to finish. Thirty seconds left.

"I just uh, wanted to thank you for tonight is all." She swallowed hard. Bruce smiled back at her. "Of course." He took her hand and turned down the hallway, leading her to the door. Shit. She heard the Joker in her ear again, he was whispering to avoid being heard by them. "Ten seconds! You better do something fast." She felt her heart begin to race as she watched Bruce reach for the keypad. He began to type in the passcode, the keys making beeping sounds as he did so. 'No no no. Think fast you fucking idiot!'


	8. Chapter 8

Without realizing what she was doing, she grabbed Bruce's hands and tore them away from the keypad. Before he could protest, she shoved her hands into his slick brown hair, and pulled him in for a kiss. Bruce seemed startled at this motion, but he certainly didn't object. He placed his hands on her hips and they kissed each other tenderly. She blushed a bit. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a **real **kiss, let alone kissing a guy like Bruce Wayne. Inside, the download finished. The Joker took the flash drive containing the valuable information out of the computer, jamming it into his tuxedo pocket. He quickly turned off the computer again and got up, heading for the glass door on the other side of the room. He locked the door behind him, stepping out onto a large balcony that overlooked the city. His goons waited for him on top of the roof. He climbed on top of the ledge overlooking the city, jumping up on to the roof of the balcony and climbing up to where the other goons waited for him. He stood tall, looking down at the city from his view. He chuckled to himself quietly and straightened out his suit, pressing his index finger against the inside of his right ear. "Coast is clear. Come meet me back at the party." He headed across the roof to a door that led back down inside the penthouse with his goons.

The sound of the Joker's voice brought her back to reality. Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled away from the kiss with Bruce. Her skin was red and Bruce's hair was messed up. She looked at her feet and straightened out her dress while Bruce ran a hand through his hair. She looked back up at Bruce. "I'm sorry Bruce, I had a really nice time tonight. But I think I should go. I feel kind of nauseous." True. Bruce looked a little dejected, but understanding. "Of course. I understand." He leaned down and kissed her hand. "I hope I will get to see you again soon." He smiled back at her, and she smiled and waved and walked away as Bruce went inside his room. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, amazed that she managed to pull everything off. She began making her way back through the long hallways to the party. She eventually found her way back; most of the guests were still there. However, some of them had left or gone to the lobby. She walked inside the elegant room again, lifting a glass of champagne off of a butler's tray as he walked past her. She sipped at it generously. Her eyelids felt heavy and she longed for sleep. She noticed that most of the guests were sitting down and eating now. She quickly walked over to an empty table near the corner of the room. She sat down at the table and rested her head on her hand. She looked around the room for the Joker but didn't see him anywhere. She let out another sigh as she sat alone. She let her mind trail again to Bruce and the Joker. She still wasn't really sure how she felt about this whole situation. She let her eyes close for a few moments before she felt someone sit down at her table. She dozily opened her eyes and saw the familiar sight of the Joker she hadn't seen since earlier. The sight of him made her heartbeat increase and perk up in her seat. She grew even happier when she noticed the large plate of food he brought with him. She couldn't remember the last time she even had a full meal. She picked up the silverware and tried to retain some level of dignity while she ate, but Jesus Christ was she starving. The Joker chuckled as he watched her. "Hungry, eh?" She only nodded in response and continued eating the delicious gourmet food. "Well, once you're ready, we can begin phase two of our little puh-lan." She looked up at him while she chewed, taking a sip from her champagne as well. "Now the fun part comes. There is a secret room underneath Bruce's penthouse where he stores products for Wayne Enterprises. So, now that we have access to his entire security system, all we have to do is disable it and take what we need." He grinned beneath his mask; she could see his eyes squinting in delight through the holes of his mask. She thought for a moment. "But if you disable the entire security system, don't you think he will notice?" He laughed again. "Ah, smart girl. Yes, he will notice. But he will just assume it is a glitch in the system and turn it back on. By then we will be gone." He smirked. She continued to eat, feeling the delightful gourmet food fill up her belly. She suddenly felt so much better with some food inside her. "But what if we aren't gone before he notices?" "Well, even if not, he will be on the top floor and we will be at the very bottom. Even on an elevator ride, that's still at least three or four minutes." She didn't like the thought of this. There's no way it would be this easy. The Joker stood up again, straightening his bowtie. She took one last bite of her food before she stood up as well, walking arm in arm with the Joker into the long hallway of mazes again.

As they walked through the hallway, she watched as the Joker reached inside his coat, pulling a tablet out of a large pocket that had been sewn into his tux. He turned the device on and reached inside the small pocket outside of his tux, taking out a flash drive. He looked over at her. "Now the fun begins." He giggled to himself and plugged it in, pulling up the information from the flash drive. He scrolled through the information to a large blueprint map of Bruce's penthouse. He stopped while he examined the map, she looked around nervously. "A-ha." He grinned to himself. "Follow me." She let out a small sigh as she followed him.

After about ten minutes of walking through all of the hallways, the Joker stopped in front of a blank section of wall at the end of one of the hallways. "Hrm..." He looked up at the small hidden camera in the corner of the ceiling. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a tiny spray can of some sort. He sprayed the camera with it, effectively covering the lens with black spray paint and hindering the camera from seeing them. "Now that that pesky thing has been dealt with, we get to go downstairs." He pulled off his mask and grinned back at her, pushing a secret button on the wall. She looked in astonishment as the fake wall panels moved aside to reveal an elevator. Joker pushed the button and the doors opened before them. "Ladies first." He motioned for her to step inside, and she obeyed. The Joker followed her inside the elevator, which was extremely cramped. It was definitely only meant for one person. The doors shut behind them and they began the slow descent down to the basement. She blushed at how closely she was standing to him, their chests pushed up against one another's. She could feel his strong muscles beneath his tux pushing against her body with every breath he took. He looked down at her and grinned. "How did you keep Wayne busy anyway?" She felt her face grow hot again at the thought. "Oh, I uh, used my 'feminine charm'." This caused the Joker to smile and laugh. She giggled a little herself too. She looked up at the Joker, who looked incredibly handsome in his very well fitting tuxedo. She slowly reached a hand out, touching the lapels of his plum vest. Her touch caught his attention and he looked down at her, his brow raised slightly. Shit. She didn't mean to do that... She swallowed. "Uh, where did you even get all this stuff anyway? The fancy clothes, the gadgets, these masks?" He grinned at her and placed a gloved hand on her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking at him. The sensation of his touch made her skin grow incredibly hot. She breathed heavily, her breasts pressing against his muscular chest. He grinned at her, using his other hand to remove her elegant mask. "Well, darling, let's just say that I uh, have my ways." His grin twisted into a playful smirk and he moved his hands away from her face and tucked her mask inside his coat pocket. He pressed a small button on his shirt that looked like a cuff link. "Are you guys in position? Okay, good. I need you three to be ready to shut down security in a few minutes, and I need the rest of you outside with the vans running and waiting to help me get this stuff, got it?" She let out a small sigh and looked to the side of the elevator, away from the eyes of the Joker. He rolled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch anxiously. He looked over at her with an eyebrow raised, her face looking discouraged. "Hm." This sound caught her attention, and she looked back up at him. He chuckled to himself slightly. "It's funny. You've helped me infiltrate through Bruce Wayne's security and I don't even know what your name is." Her face grew red again and he leaned in closer. "Oh. Right, my name is Harleen." She smiled at him slightly. He looked at the ceiling. "Hm. Well, Harley." He looked back down at her and grinned. "You did ve-ry well today. I'm quite impressed with you, you devious little woman." He smirked at her. 'Maybe now is the best time to ask...' she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, taking a deep breath. The Joker noticed this, looking down at her. She opened her eyes again, looking up at him. She gazed into his hazel eyes, looking into the ebony colored circles inside. He stared back at her, a perplexed look in his eyes. "Well, since you are so impressed, will you grant me one thing?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" She took another deep breath again.

"Why didn't you kill me?"


	9. Chapter 9

Before she could get an answer, the elevator screeched to a halt and the doors opened. The Joker jumped out eagerly, flipping on a light switch on a nearby wall. He watched as all the security systems in the room began shutting down. He let out a hearty giggle at the sight before him. A giant warehouse, full of military grade weapons, ammo, and anything else he could possibly need. He ran to the other side of the room, pressing a button on the wall that opened a large industrial metal garage door that opened into a back alleyway, where the Joker's goons were waiting with their vans ready. He signaled to them to come inside, and begin cramming as many boxes into the vans as they could.

Meanwhile, Harley stood there in the tiny elevator, feeling dejected. Yet again her question had gone unnoticed by him. She sighed and stepped out of the elevator, walking in to the large room. As the Joker and his goons began loading boxes into the vans, she watched as the cameras began turning on again. Oh no, that couldn't be good. Before she could even say anything to the Joker, a deafeningly loud alarm resonated through the room. She fell to her knees, cupping her hands over her ears. The sound was unbearable.

As the alarms bellowed, the Joker angrily walked over to one of his goons, grabbing him by his wife beater and pinning him against the wall of the warehouse. "You fucking idiot! I **explicitly **told you to make sure security was shut down!" The goon looked afraid for his life at the sight of the Joker's anger. "I did boss, I swear I did! It was shut down for at least a minute but it just turned itself back on!" The Joker furrowed his brows angrily, tossing the goon aside. Damnit, Wayne must have a back-up security system. That meant that they only had a few minutes to get the fuck out of here. The Joker jogged back over to the center of the warehouse, where the panicked and confused goons stood. "Listen up! We have a few minutes to get what we can and get the fuck out, so grab what you can and move! Fast!" The goons spread out, running franticly to grab whatever boxes they could. The Joker noticed her, heaped on the floor and covering her ears. He whistled to one of his goons and motioned at her, and the goon lifted her up and ran out of the warehouse, carrying her in his arms. She looked back at the Joker and his goons as they were frantically loading boxes into the backs of the vans. The goon tossed her into the passenger seat of one of the vans, where another goon was sitting in the driver's seat ready to leave at a moment's notice. "'Ey, Frankie, make sure she don' try to do nothin' dumb or get outta this van. Boss's orders." She watched as the goon shut the door behind her, running back inside the warehouse. She peered out her window, which faced the open industrial door. Her eyes searched and found the Joker, watching him carefully as he ran about. Her eyes shifted back to the elevator, as she watched the doors opening. Oh, **no**... In the doors of the elevator, stood a very angry looking Bruce, with a pistol in his right hand. He ran behind one of the piles of boxes, taking cover. The Joker hadn't noticed him come inside; she had to warn him before he got hurt. She immediately reached for the handle of the door, only to hear a loud 'click' before she tried to open it. She jiggled the handle furiously, to no avail. "No!" She looked back at the goon, noticing he locked the doors. "No! You don't understand, the Joker is going to get hurt! You need to let me warn him!" She tried to reach past the goon to unlock the door, only for him to push her back to her seat. "Can't let you do that lady." She pouted, feeling tears begin to sting her eyes. "You idiot! He's gonna get killed!" She leaned up against her window, pressing her hands against it and trying to watch what was happening. She felt her heart sinking as she watched the Joker reach for one of the boxes Bruce was hiding behind. Bruce jumped out from behind the boxes, tackling the Joker to the ground. "No!" She cried out, tears beginning to drip down her skin.

The Joker's head spun as his body made contact with the cold concrete floor. He looked up, only to see Bruce Wayne above him. He smirked up at Bruce. "Hello there Mr. Wayne, quite a lovely par-ty you had this evening." The Joker laughed, which only angered Bruce more. He hit the Joker hard in the jaw with the butt of his pistol, causing the Joker's laughing to cease. The Joker only looked back up at him and grinned through bloody teeth, before head butting Bruce and knocking him off of him. Joker rolled away from Bruce, pulling off his tuxedo jacket. He rolled up his sleeves, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth with his arm. He waited for Bruce to stand up again, running at him with a knife he pulled out of his pants pocket. Bruce didn't react in time to dodge the knife, letting out a shriek of pain as it punctured his side. Bruce threw the Joker away from him, knocking him against one of the piles of boxes. The Joker slid down to the floor, not even getting the chance to stand up again before Bruce grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket.

Harley watched from inside the van, feeling completely helpless to the scene unfurling before her. She watched as two of Joker's goons ran up behind Bruce, tearing him away from their boss. The Joker fell back down to the ground again as Bruce wrestled to get out of the goons' grip. She watched as Joker scurried off to somewhere else in the warehouse. Bruce finally knocked the two goons off of him, elbowing them in the face hard enough to knock both of them unconscious. Bruce clutched as his side, frantically looking around for the Joker, who was nowhere to be seen.

As the goons were holding Bruce back, Joker took the initiative to get away from Bruce and bide himself some more time. He hid behind a large pile of boxes far from Bruce, who was now searching all around the warehouse. The Joker took a crowbar that was hanging on the wall behind him, opening one of the boxes near him. Inside was several M16A2's along with magazine clips, padded with large amounts of hay. The Joker picked up one of the large guns, inserting one of the magazine clips into the gun. He picked up two more clips, putting one in each of his pants pockets. The Joker stood up from his crouching position, taking partial cover behind the large boxes. He perched his elbows on top of the box, holding out the M16 and opening fire on Bruce.

Harley heard the sound of rapid gunfire, feeling her heart nearly explode out of her chest. She didn't want Bruce to get hurt, and she didn't want the Joker to get hurt either. She watched Bruce duck down, avoiding the bullets and taking cover behind a stack of boxes. The few goons who were still inside the warehouse ran out in a panic, climbing inside the vans again. 'Why the fuck isn't anybody trying to help him?' Harley's frustration grew more with each passing second. She watched on as Bruce remained behind cover, loading bullets into his pistol. She saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, noticing it was the Joker running for the large open door. The goons saw their boss running towards them, and started up their vans. Harley shifted her attention back to Bruce, who wasn't trying to chase Joker down at all. She then realized Bruce was aiming at the Joker. She heard a loud blast, and watched as the Joker suddenly collapsed. She started punching and kicking at the window in desperation as the Joker lay there motionless. The goon seized her, keeping her from moving her body any more. She looked back out the window, in relief to see the Joker standing back up. He ran for the door, the M16 in his right hand and he clutched his right shoulder with his other. She could see that his shirt was stained crimson and his hand was covered in blood. Suddenly, the large industrial door began to close slowly. She watched as Bruce had moved over to a large control panel on the wall next to him, he must have hit something to shut the door. 'Please, please make it out okay...' She watched on as the Joker made his way towards the door as fast as he could muster himself to, while Bruce began to follow suit. The door was about halfway closed by now; the Joker was at least thirty feet away still. Bruce fired more shots at the Joker as he ran, missing most of them. One of the bullets grazed the Joker's left side. She watched as the Joker winced sharply, discarding the gun as he picked up speed for the door. Once he made it to the door, there was about four feet open still. The Joker turned around, to see Bruce about fifteen feet behind him. He ran, sliding underneath the closing door just in time to narrowly escape from Bruce. He laid there on the pavement, panting and gasping with his hand still on his shoulder. Two of the goons got out of their van, running up to their boss and grabbing him by his shoulders, helping him inside the back of one of the vans before they all began driving away from the scene.


	10. Chapter 10

The ride back to Joker's hideout seemed to take forever. Her mind was racing the whole time, she was unable to rest or fall asleep. She only hoped he would be okay. It had only been about an hour by the time they got back to the hideout. She got out of the van, watching as the goons climbed out and began hauling the crates they managed to grab from earlier. It was actually pretty impressive what they managed to take considering how badly the situation turned out for them. Oh well, more important things to worry about. She walked up to the large steel door of the warehouse, stepping inside and pushing past two goons carrying one of the crates into the cellar. She heard commotion coming from the Joker's room, pushing open the door. She saw a door to the right side of his room that was slightly ajar, where she pinpointed the commotion coming from. She pushed open the door slightly, where before her she saw four or five goons surrounding the Joker's body. His bloody clothing had been tossed on the floor; he sat on the lid of the toilet with only his pants still on. She could see fresh blood still dripping from his wounded shoulder, as well as his side. His once neat and slicked back hair was now messy with sweat and blood, strands of curled hair hung down in front of his eyes. When she tried to walk inside, she was blocked by one of the larger goons. She peered past his frame, watching as the others tended to the Joker's wounds. One of them took a bottle of cheap vodka out of the medicine cabinet on the wall, pouring it into the Joker's wounded shoulder. He let out a sharp gasp as the alcohol stung his skin. One of the other goons was fishing around through a cabinet, before finding a pair of needle-nosed pliers. He walked over by the Joker, where the other person tending to him poured some of the vodka over the pliers. He looked down at the Joker, who was panting slightly. "This will probably hurt a bit, boss." The Joker scoffed at him. "Yeah no fucking shit. Just get it over with quickly." He obeyed his boss's orders, digging the pliers in to the wound, emitting another loud gasp from the Joker. She watched as he gritted his teeth, his face contorted in pain. A short amount of time later, the goon pulled the tip of the bullet out of his flesh. She heard a loud sigh of relief from the Joker, who stopped gritting his teeth. He then looked up and noticed her standing there. He then pushed the goon away from him. "All of you, get out. Now. Except her." She felt her heart flutter when he alluded to her. "But boss, we haven't fini-" The Joker shot him an annoyed glance. "I can take it from here. Go, now." They turned back around, walking past her and heading out the door, the last one closing it behind him. Harley turned her attention back around to the Joker as he stood up. His body was robust and muscular, but riddled with bruises, scrapes and scars. She shot him a look of concern. "Shouldn't you see a real doctor?" He looked over at her, chuckling quietly as he picked up the bottle of vodka from the ground. "Heh, probably." He poured some of the vodka on to a nearby rag, dabbing it on his side, inhaling sharply as he did so. She walked over to the bathtub on the wall perpendicular from him, sitting on the ledge and looking at the floor. She looked up again as he rummaged through a cabinet underneath the sink, pulling out a roll of gauze and some medical tape. He sat back down on the toilet, unraveling the gauze. "So, before we were uh, interrupted earlier, you wanted to ask me something?" He tore a piece of gauze away with his teeth.

She felt slightly revitalized that he actually remembered and acknowledged her question this time instead of just blowing it off as he had done before. "Oh, right." She cleared her throat, watching him rip off pieces of tape with his teeth and dressing his wound. "I was just wondering, um..." She tried to think of the best way to word this. He looked over at her, raising his eyebrow at her again as he had done so repeatedly. "It's just that uh, you're known for being sort of, um...merciless..." He giggled, tearing another piece of gauze for his side. "Yeah, I guess you **could **say that." She felt her face flush slightly, scratching her head awkwardly. "So...if you're so merciless, why have you let me live for this long?" He smirked, standing up and running a hand over his head, brushing the stray pieces of hair away from his face. He walked over to where she sat, kneeling down to her eye level. He moved close, so his face was a mere inch or two from hers. She sat there, staring into the ebony rims of black surrounding his eyes. His face distorted as he grinned at her, his lacerated scars nearly reached his ears. He licked his ruby colored lips, chewing on his bottom lip slightly. The room was filled with silence. All she could hear was the faint sound of their breathing, until he broke the silence.

"You aren't **afraid **of me, are you?" The Joker grinned at her eagerly, studying each and every miniscule of her body language scrupulously. She watched his hazel eyes studying her, like a predator would watch its prey. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to make a mistake so he could pounce. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes as she inhaled. She exhaled slowly, opening her eyes again and taking in the sight of him before her.

"No, I'm not afraid of you."

The Joker squinted his eyes at her, his grin growing even wider.

"And that's **exactly **what I like about you."


End file.
